Reviews by QuotedTurnip

90

A classic tower defence game

I haven't yet anyone who's played this and hasn't grown fond of it. Its cute veneer will reel you in and not let very easily and is a bargain to boot.
It follows the basic principles of the genre but with its own spin on the bloated number of games that feature zombies these days; the learning curve isn't too steep, the music adds to the atmosphere but is unobtrusive and the sound effects aren't likely to annoy you quickly, which is difficult to find these days!
There are plenty of modes that supplement the main adventure, my personal favourite being Survival - it's a good way to test out strategies using different plant combinations to see what works best against specific zombie types in order to boost your score/time.
Getting all of the achievements on Steam will certainly take some time and it will prove itself value for money several times over.

75

Slightly bloated

I tend to only get the game biennially now as there is definitely more than enough intrigue to tide you over for more than one real-life season and the changes made between each iteration are often incremental.
With this version, I was intrigued by the 'Classic' version that came alongside it - gone are the halcyon days of CM3 01/02 where you could get through a season in a few hours without rushing through or being too bogged down in micromanagement minutiae, or so I thought. The mode is a welcome nod to times past but by only allowing for three nations, it ironically limits the scope too much. Couple this with the 'experimental DLC' and you have something that needs a lot of improvement in the next one.
All in all, it is still by far the deepest football management game out there and now has a proper online system to help you and your friends play through Steam without any other third-party software. It just needs to find the right balance between micromanagement and a feeling of breezing through matches.

85

Doesn't deserve the mixed reviews from critics

A lot has happened in the interim period between the first game and its sequel. Perhaps expectations were too high given the critical success of the original, but, having played both, this is an improvement in every regard.
The visuals are an obvious place to start. It's more than just an enhancement in graphics; all the first game's quirks (meant in a good way) are still present in this one and the advanced hardware of modern PCs has allowed the creators to really run away with the graphics - sometimes I would stop Alice whilst playing and simply pan the camera round. Another good touch is the way her dress changes every level, helping to add to the level's theme and the story's progression.
The story itself deals a lot with psychology, which I haven't often seen really come off in a game that I've played - only Silent Hill 2 springs to mind as being a success in that department. Collecting all the hidden items in each level is tricky and might take several playthroughs or an online guide to get to but it is rewarding in the sense that it really fleshes out the background to the plot and Alice's state of mind.
The locations and enemies are varied enough to keep you interested and the length of the game is just right not to exhaust itself and the player.